


Jack's Very Bad Day

by KahtyaSofia



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-25
Updated: 2009-11-25
Packaged: 2017-10-03 17:13:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahtyaSofia/pseuds/KahtyaSofia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's arrogance catches up with him and he's snatched from the streets of Cardiff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jack's Very Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd as usual. The lovely [info]corchfalas gave it a read through and made some good points, the correction of which you will find here. This is set after Exit Wounds, but before Left Turn. darker_tw prompt 'Bad Day'

Jack was having a bad day. A really bad day. The worst part was that he had no one to blame but himself. He was right here, enduring what he was enduring because of his own arrogance. How old was Jack going to have to be before he remembered that immortal did not mean infallible? His high profile and lack of discretion under Torchwood authority were bound to come back to bite him some day.

He knew he only had one chance at rescue and he hoped with everything he possessed that Ianto and Gwen sent UNIT for him and didn't come after him themselves. He was awash in fear at the thought of what was left of his team in danger. Jack couldn't afford to loose either one of them right now although, each for very different reasons. He fervently hoped they would simply bring all of Torchwood's resources to bear to locate him and then let UNIT send in a strike team to retrieve him.

Jack also knew the likelihood of that was slim to none. Gwen and Ianto wouldn't let someone else rescue him anymore than he would sit back and let anyone else rescue one of them. He could only hope they all made it out of this alive and intact.

That is, if Ianto was even able to figure out what had happened to Jack. Then again, Ianto was bloody brilliant. He really shouldn't have any doubts in that regard. Jack gave himself a mental kick for letting his circumstances overwhelm him to the point that he would doubt Ianto's abilities, driven by his sheer will, to locate his Captain. He had to keep the faith.

Jack took a deep breath to steady himself and push his fear to the back of his mind. Ianto and Gwen knew what Jack's last location had been, they knew what his mission had been and they would find some sort of readings to indicate what had been done to him. Surely, Ianto could trace the readings and find Jack's current location?

He let out a deep, shuddering sigh as one of his agonized muscles reflexively twitched and sent a fresh wave of pain through his body. Jack had to admit to himself that by now, he might not even be close enough to Earth for even UNIT to be of any help. He tried not to let his despair overtake him.  
…………………………………………………………………..

Ianto was having a very bad day. His heart was in his throat as he typed furiously on the keyboard in front of him. He'd had Jack on comms one moment and then nothing…complete nothingness the next; no dead air on the comms, no signal from Jack's lost earpiece, no signal on Jack's mobile, no sign of Jack at all. What frightened Ianto the most was that the anomalous signal Jack had been investigating when he'd disappeared had quit at the same moment he'd dropped off of their equipment. It had all the hallmarks of a trap that had been sprung.

Andy had honored Gwen's request to check the immediate area they had last known Jack to be and had located the SUV but no sign of Jack. There was no sign of anything unusual that might have required Jack to investigate. It wasn't right and Ianto knew deep down it wasn't good.

He paused in his typing, suddenly unsure what to do, how to proceed. Ianto was frozen in fear. Under no circumstances could he just abandon Jack but he was suddenly at a loss for what to do. In that moment he envied Jack's decisiveness, his ability to always understand what to do.

Ianto swallowed the lump in this throat and mentally chided himself for having even a moment of self doubt. He may not know at this moment what to do but he would figure it out. Ianto opened the secure, encrypted web connection. He was so focused on his need to find Jack, Ianto didn't even think to find humor in the young, handsome face that flashed up on his screen, wearing a red beret.

"UNIT, Cardiff Central Command," the young man said formally, "how can I be of service to you, Torchwood?"  
……………………………………………………….

Jack had no one to blame but himself for his predicament. He'd let his own damn ego rule his actions. The Universe knows about them, knows them as Sol 3, but knows them all the same. Under Torchwood authority Jack had spent more than a century dealing with tourist space ships, errant blowfish and alien smuggling rings. He'd made no effort to hide his identity in all that time. It was inevitable that other races and civilizations would have noticed that Captain Harkness of Torchwood had both lived and remained youthful and vital for far longer than any human should. It was only a matter of time before Jack's high profile turned around and bit him in the arse.

He didn't even know who they were. He'd never seen this race before. Their language was unfamiliar and so far, they hadn't even attempted to communicate in one of the Common Tongues. Jack was well and truly fucked.

He'd barely stepped out of the SUV to investigate the anomalous signal when they'd taken him. Jack hadn't had an opportunity to give Ianto any warning. He hadn't seen or heard anything in order to evade it. He'd simply stopped being on the quiet Cardiff street and ended up here, wherever here was. Jack had no sooner registered the change in his surroundings when several of them had set upon him, restraining him and sedating him. He'd since lost track of how long ago he'd awakened, strapped into this contraption.

They viewed Jack as an oddity, a specimen, a freak. He couldn't determine if they knew he was immortal, or if they just thought he was unusually long lived. It didn't matter. He was their guinea pig. Unless Ianto and Gwen could find him and hopefully send UNIT in to get him, Jack knew he was facing an unending cycle of pain and experimentation.

Hadn't he been through this once already? Enough is enough.  
…………………………………………….

Ianto was walking yet another grid square in an ever increasing pattern moving away from the SUV. He was picking up faint signals and power readings. They were all spatial, Ianto breathed a relieved sigh to himself. He didn't think he'd know what to do about anything temporal. Not even UNIT had the technology to scour all of time and space for Jack.

For one brief moment Ianto's mind came to rest on Captain John Hart and bile rose in his throat. Hart was still on Earth and he was a Time Agent. He still had his wrist strap. He still fancied Jack. Ianto shook his head, rejecting the possibility that Hart was in any way responsible for Jack's disappearance. These signals weren't Time Agency.

Ianto stopped walking and looked around at this surroundings. He was beginning to feel desperate. He wasn't finding answers and he was growing more and more fearful that he was failing Jack. Maybe Hart and that bloody wrist strap could help?

He gave himself a good, swift mental kick and resumed his scans. Ianto wasn't desperate enough, yet, to seek help from Hart but he had to admit he was quickly approaching the point where he was.

"Any sign, Ianto?" Gwen's voice sounded in his ear through his com.

Ianto didn't answer her for several seconds while he analyzed the subtle new readings he was suddenly picking up. He felt his pulse kick up in pace as he realized what he was seeing.

"Yes, Gwen," Ianto replied as he began to stride toward his UNIT escort, "I'm going to forward my readings to UNIT and see if the Valiant can track the origin and source."

"Do you need me to respond out there?"

"Not yet. Wait until the Valiant finds a source and then you and I will go and get him."  
………………………………………………….

Jack had been dozing while strapped into the circular contraption his captors had secured him in almost as soon as they'd captured him. Noises that disrupted the ambient sounds of the room awoke him. Jack looked around but didn't see any of his actual captors. It seemed instead that they lurked in shadows on the edges of the room. Sudden changes in his surroundings always scared Jack. He wouldn't allow his fear to show but he felt it in his suddenly dry mouth.

He took a moment to examine the mechanism of his restraint, once again searching for a weakness he could exploit. Jack felt like he was strapped in the center of a gyroscope. Arched beams crossed over his head and his arms and legs were chained to the center and base of each beam. They had removed his shirts but left him in his trousers. Small wounds at various places on his body crusted with blood told Jack they had run tests on him while they'd had him sedated. The small lacerations burned as they healed over, even as Jack watched. His muscles ached with fatigue a lack of mobility.

Jack noticed the shadows around him move closer. The sounds from the shadows also grew louder as they grew closer. He was so focused on trying to identify his captors that Jack didn't see the metal shaft shoot out of the rounded beam in front of him and pierce the flesh of his side.

He thrashed in his bonds and looked down at himself. Jack swore as his body shuddered in pain. He was sickened at the sight of the half-inch diameter metal rod protruding from his flesh. Jack had heard the shaft clank into a slot in the beam behind him. As he watched his blood trickle from the wound opening around the shaft, the sound of a second shaft shooting out from in front of him to impale his other side startled him and ripped another curse from his throat. Any movement of Jack's body brought about more excruciating pain.

Jack was helpless to prevent the third shaft from shooting out and running through the soft flesh where his neck met his shoulder. He found it agony to move his head now. Jack let loose with a colorful string of obscenities. He called to his captors in English, challenging them to face him. He knew it was no use but it made him feel better.

He was ready but still unprepared when the next shaft shot through his opposite shoulder. Jack's entire torso was screaming in pain. He felt his blood trickling down his skin from his multiple wounds. His breathing was rapid and shallow. Each breath jarred the shafts that impaled his body and tore a groan from Jack's throat.

He was foolish enough to believe his abuse was over. Tortured metal protested as another shaft shot out to slice its way through one of his biceps. Jack screamed at the shadows that were his captures in one of the Common Tongues. He couldn't be sure if they didn't understand him or if he'd even gotten the pronunciations right, not having used the language in so many years.

It was inevitable when another shaft impaled Jack's other bicep. He was rendered immobile but in agony. Any movement brought misery, even breathing. Jack gritted his teeth and tried to steady his breath. He willed himself not to move. He hoped the pain would recede. He hoped Gwen and Ianto would find him. At this point, Jack would settle for something as simple as an explanation.

The only sound in the cavernous room was Jack's own ragged breathing. The whispers in the shadows had stopped. The shadows themselves had receded. He watched as a single shadowed figure moved toward him and separated itself from the rest of the dark mass. Finally, he heard words he recognized.

'You are specimen,' a voice rough from disuse said to Jack, 'we study.' His captor spoke the least used of the Common Tongues. Its grammar was bad but Jack understood.

'I am not for experimentation,' Jack gasped out, referencing the well known law regarding sentient beings, 'I did not consent.'

'Not human,' his captor said, finally stepping into view.

Somewhere in the back of Jack's mind he was appreciative of evolution. Quad-limbed bi-peds seemed to be the most common physical form in the universe. So many races on so many planets had developed into that form. Jack wasn't familiar with this race, though. He didn't know if they were aggressive or stupidly curious.

'I am human,' Jack argued heatedly, hearing his pain cloud his voice.

'Too old,' the creature replied and Jack began to realize how he had come to their notice.

'I'm special,' Jack gasped in the same Common Tongue, 'special but still human. I do not consent.'

'We seek your secret,' the being told him in the stilted language.

'Sol 3 is off limits,' Jack reminded his captors that the youth of the human race precluded anything more than distant observation.

"You are not of Sol 3," his captor argued.

"I have been of Sol 3 for almost two human life spans," Jack pointed out, "If you release me now you can go on your way but if you force my people to come for me you will regret it."

"Sol 3 does not have the technology."

Jack kept silent on this point, listening to himself breathe raggedly. These aliens didn't need to know about the rift and the useful tech that it was forever spitting out.

"Underestimating humans has caused the extinction of more than one race," Jack said almost under his breath, not entirely proud of the fact.

"How?" the alien asked.

Jack was genuinely confused, "How what?"

"How do you not die?"

"I'm special," Jack supplied the only information he could, "it was a gift of the Time Vortex."

"You do not cooperate," his captor turned to re-enter the shadows, "we must continue."

Jack felt extraordinary pain deep inside his muscles and it ran throughout his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and found he couldn't breathe. It felt as though bits of him were being ripped out by the shafts that were embedded inside of him. Jack had to battle to keep himself still, fearing any movement would escalate his pain.

Another shadow separated itself from the others and approached Jack. This one didn't speak but simply held up containers to the curved beams in front of Jack and collected the samples of blood and flesh that poured forth from spouts. Jack had to battle not to be sick.  
……………………………………………………………

Ianto paced the hanger. Gwen sat in a camp chair watching him. He could feel her eyes following him. They were surrounded by a sea of black uniforms and red berets. Ianto found he couldn't appreciate the view. His stomach was cramped with anxiety. Ianto felt his hands and knees were still shaking. He swallowed hard and knew he had to get himself under control before they transported him up to look to Jack.

"Don't wear yourself out before we're needed, Ianto," he heard Gwen say as he stepped past her chair for what might be the hundredth time.

"I'll be ready when we dust off," was all he said in reply.

"You know he's going to be okay now that you've found where he's being held," Gwen stated the obvious.

Ianto stopped his pacing to glance down at her. He couldn't very well be mad at her. She didn't know. Jack had never told her about his time away and what had been done to him while he'd been captive. Gwen only knew that Jack's body would be fine. She didn't know that it was his mind that Ianto was afraid for.

"Torchwood!" the UNIT Commander's voice echoed through the hanger and both Ianto and Gwen jumped, "the alien ship is nearly secure, time to get to your transport and see to your Captain."

Ianto took off at a dead run and didn't look back to see if Gwen followed.  
……………………………………………………..

Jack had no idea how long he'd been held captive. He had no clue how long he'd gone without sleep. The shafts in his body prevented him from sagging into his bonds and relaxing. He could feel himself loosing his grip on reality. Jack knew the hallucinations would begin at any moment.

When he heard the gunfire, the explosions, the entire ship beneath him vibrating, Jack was sure it was wishful thinking, a fantasy, a dream. He heard what sounded like screams and cries of distress from the shadows that surrounded him. Even when he saw the black clad soldiers and their red berets Jack believed he was dreaming.

When he saw a worried Ianto appear before him, concern etched in every line of his face, Jack decided he didn't want this dream to end.

"Jack."

He closed his eyes. Jack was thrilled with this auditory hallucination. Ianto's sweet voice flowed over and around him and for just a moment, he forgot his pain.

"Jack!"

Ianto sounded more insistent so Jack opened his eyes.

"Jack, listen to me carefully," Ianto was staring intently into his eyes now, as if willing Jack to focus, "I have to figure out how to retract the shafts. It's going to hurt when I do, you know that."

Jack nodded his understanding and began to wonder if this wasn't the real Ianto. If Jack were going to dream about Ianto, surely he'd already be on his knees with Jack's cock in his mouth, not standing stoically reading a scanner.

"When I have you free, the UNIT Corpsmen are going to take you down and see to your immediate wounds."

Jack nodded again and realized Ianto was really there. This crazy, stubborn, loyal young man had risked his neck to save him. First he was going to kiss him then, he was going to punch him.

What was left of Jack's rational thought fled when Ianto hit the right sequence and all six shafts retracted simultaneously. Jack screamed and fell into oblivion and the waiting arms of the UNIT Corpsmen.  
…………………………………………..

Jack rocketed back to life with a harsh gasp as he sat straight up and looked around. The backseat of the SUV. He was laid out in the rear seat of the SUV. He heaved a sigh of relief and lay back down.

The door behind his head was yanked open and he found himself staring into the upside down visage of Ianto.

"Jack, how do you feel?"

"Just smashing," he replied in a tone some would say he'd picked up from Ianto.

"I'm sorry. I tried to retract the shafts one at a time but I did something wrong and they all came out at once."

"You got me out of there, that's all that matters."

Jack felt Ianto's hand run down his chest comfortingly, "Not before you bled out, though. Anybody else and I'd have killed them."

He reached up and pulled Ianto down for a brief, hard kiss, "Now help me out of here so I can punch you."

"What?" Ianto asked, pulling back in confusion.

"You put yourself at risk," Jack clambered out of the vehicle, "UNIT could have affected the rescue."

"UNIT did affect the rescue, Jack," Ianto said with his typical exasperation, "Gwen and I stayed planetside until they secured the alien ship and then I came aboard strictly to handle the tech."

"They did?" Jack confirmed, "You did?"

"You're welcome, Jack." Ianto turned to walk away, muttering under his breath about thanklessly bad days.

"Ianto," Jack called out and waited for Ianto to turn back. He closed the distance between them and drew Ianto close with a hand behind his neck. He placed a kiss on Ianto's forehead. "Thank you."

finito.

(OK to convert and Kindle as long as header remains intact)


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